The Mental Health Association of Maryland (MHAMD), the state’s only volunteer, nonprofit citizen’s organization that brings together consumers, families, professionals, advocates and concerned citizens for unified action in all aspects of mental health and mental illness, is marking its centennial year by proudly announcing BrainFutures 2015. This conference will draw national and international experts to explore the latest neuroscience on mental health care and brain optimization. To register, click here.

Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to change throughout a person’s life. It is one of the most transformative scientific discoveries in behavioral health care, as well as the foundation of BrainFutures 2015. More than 500 clinicians, policy makers, mental health consumers and family members are expected to attend this conference in Annapolis, Maryland, which takes place November 4-5 at the Westin Annapolis.

“Neuroplasticity is driving new research and innovative approaches to treating mental health and substance use disorders as well as optimizing the brain’s performance,” says Linda J. Raines, MHAMD’s CEO. “We’re seeing growing promise and evidence behind new technologies ranging from magnetic and electrical brain stimulation, video games and phone apps to the identification of new markers that may predict which medications will work best for people living with mental illness.”

BrainFutures 2015 will feature key speakers such as:

Former U.S. Representative Patrick Kennedy (D-RI), founder of The Kennedy Forum, who is invested in making sure the latest science translates to the public

Adam Gazzaley, who is taking Neuroracer, a game he developed at the Neuroscience Imaging Center at UC San Francisco, through the FDA approval process for medical devices

Zack Lynch, leader of the NeuroTechnology Industry Organization, who will head a panel with creative forces such as Jane McGonigal, director of game research at the Institute of the Future, Jen Hyatt, founder of the Big White Wall and Corey McCann, CEO of Pear Therapeutics

Evian Gordon, CEO of Brain Resource Ltd, George Carpenter, CEO of CNS Response, and Jay Lombard, co-founder of Genomind, all leaders in the field of personalized medicine who are developing new tools to improve screening, diagnosis and treatment selection

Kate Sullivan, director of the BrainFitness Center at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Cori Lathan, CEO of AnthroTronix, and Geoffrey Ling, founder of the Biological Technologies office at DARPA on military mental health

Yi Jin, whose use of magnetic resonance therapy at the University of Southern California’s Brain Treatment Center is transforming the lives of veterans with PTSD and of youth with autism

Robert Heinssen, director of services research at NIMH, and Capt. Joseph Hibbeln, chief of nutritional neurosciences for the U.S. Public Health Service

]Jocelyn Faubert, whose laboratory at the University of Montreal has yielded technologies that are used by professional sports leagues and elite military forces to improve attention, focus and performance

For one hundred years, MHAMD has believed that access to both services and information is power. The organization will celebrate its centennial during BrainFutures 2015 with a dinner on November 4, 2015.

BrainFutures 2015 is co-sponsored by The Kennedy Forum, Mental Health America and the National Council for Behavioral Health.

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